Environmental Mystery Sends C.S. Porter Students into World of Wildlife, Land Use
March 4, 2005By DONNA SYVERTSON
The Missoulian (Montana)
C.S. Porter Middle School reporters for the Coconut Grove Gazette fired question after question at students posing as characters from Carl Hiaasen's novel Hoot on Thursday afternoon.
"Beatrice, why do you care about owls?" a reporter asked one of the characters.
"They're dumb owls, but my brother cares for owls," Beatrice replied. "I'm really proud of him."
"Why do you continue the investigation?" asked another reporter.
"I really wanted to get them behind bars," Dana responded.
The press conference was one of many post-reading projects for Hoot at the Missoula middle school.
The sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade classes read Hoot, kept a journal and discussed the work as part of "One Book One Community."
A pancake dinner was served to parents and students Thursday night at the school to encourage the community connection.
The young people's novel discusses controversial efforts taken to build Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House in Coconut Grove, Fla. Burrowing owls were found on the property and an environmental impact survey was not conducted.
While reading the book, the students also learned about a local land-use issue, the proposed Bitterroot Resort for Lolo Peak. Guest speakers from various sides of the project spoke with the students, who also read newspaper articles about the topic.
"The book itself...raises the question, the next level: Could something like this happen in our community?" said Maeta Kaplan, a sixth-grade teacher. "Kids become better readers when making the connection to their own lives.
"We wanted them to also connect with why is this issue important to these people," she added.
Eighth-grade student Raif Walter got the message.
"You need to stick up for what you believe in no matter how high the stakes are against you," he said. "Some people grow up and see...what they want to be. Some say it's unattainable but if you work hard, you can achieve it. That's the message of the book."
The school set aside a month for students to read the book, Kaplan explained. "The kids were involved in a lot of work on reading strategies and skills," meeting in small groups to work with the book.
Thursday's events were a chance to showcase what they learned. One classroom created games like Tricky Stick and Jeopardy; another did charades; yet another held a rap session and another spoke about the endangered owls.
"We're trying to teach them what good readers do when they read," added Jerry Davis, with the Family Resource Center at C.S. Porter. "It's a program to reemphasize the importance of building communities."
The book also discusses bullying, which is not a big problem at Porter, said Walter.
"We have Porter Pride," he said.
